Air India received its third Boeing 787 Dreamliner, thefirst aircraft coming out of the new North Charleston facility of the Americanmanufacturer, the company said on Saturday.
"We are delighted to be the first airline in the worldto take delivery of a Dreamliner from this beautiful factory and look forwardto taking many more," Air India Board member K M Unni said after receivingthe first plane from the new plant.
He said the B-787 was "an airplane with unmatchedefficiency and technology which will help in our airline's turnaroundplan," a Boeing statement from North Charleston quoting him said.
In September, Air India took delivery of its first of the 27Dreamliners on order. The aircraft is equipped with 18 business class seats and238 in the economy class.
Work on the first South Carolina-built airplane began inOctober 2010 with fabrication of the aft fuselage and assembly of the mid-bodysection. Final assembly began in June 2011 and the completed airplane rolledout in April 2012 and flew for the first time in May, the release said.
"With two 787s successfully introduced to Air India'sfleet, passengers are enjoying breakthrough features such as larger windows,lower cabin altitude and unprecedented flying experience," Dinesh Keskar,senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales, said. Two of theseplanes are already being flown in the domestic sector.
The South Carolina plant's Vice President Jack Jones said,"In just under three years of breaking ground, we've flown and deliveredour first airplane built here. This is a tribute to the remarkable Boeing SouthCarolina team and the support we've received from our airline customers, oursupplier partners, the Boeing enterprise".
The Dreamliner is the first commercial jetliner madeprimarily of advanced composite materials. It offers exceptional passengercomfort features including cleaner air, higher humidity, bigger windows thatdim electronically and more overhead storage space.
The aircraft's fuel efficiency is 20 per cent better thanother airplanes in its class, which also results in 20 per cent lower carbonemissions, the Boeing statement said.